Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Obama CDC Wants More Worry-free Sex for Teen Girls

Although the teenage pregnancy and birth rates continue to drop to historic lows, the Obama administration Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that not enough teenage girls are using long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) such as implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs). The CDC reports that other more common contraception methods fail too often, and the resulting pregnancies cause grief among sexually active teens.

“Long-acting reversible contraception is safe for teens, easy to use, and very effective,” [principal deputy director at the CDC, Ileana] Arias told reporters. “We need to remove barriers and increase awareness, access, and availability of long-acting reversible contraception, such as IUDs and implants.”

LARC use among teens has increased more than 17-fold from 0.4 percent in 2005 to 7.1 percent in 2013, the study shows. LARC use was slightly higher in college-aged women than in their high school-aged counterparts.

Efforts to improve access to LARC through the Title X National Family Planning Program, which funds 4,400 family planning centers nationwide, has helped reduce the teen birth rate, officials said.

Dr. Lee Warner, associate director for Science with the CDC's Division of Reproductive Health . . . said that federal subsidies to cover the cost of LARC would further prevent unwanted teen pregnancies.

According to the CDC, condoms can result in pregnancy in 18 out of 100 cases. Birth control pills are also ineffective in about 18 out of 100 cases. LARC, on the other hand, prevents pregnancies in more than 99 out of 100 cases.

Still, condoms should be used along with LARC to protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

In 2005, just 0.4 percent of teens were getting implants or IUDs. By 2013, more than 7 percent were. "Of the 616,148 female teens seeking contraceptive services in 2013, 17,349 (2.8 percent) used IUDs, and 26,347 (4.3 percent) used implants," the report reads.

"Long-acting, reversible contraception requires no effort after insertion, and can prevent unintended pregnancy for at least 3 to 10 years," the CDC team said.

"During the first year of typical use, both IUDs and implants have lower failure rates (less than one percent) than oral contraceptives (9 percent) and condoms (18 percent)."

Valerie Huber, president and CEO of the National Abstinence Education Association, says the CDC report ignores the complex nature of teen sex, saying it should not be portrayed only as a pregnancy prevention concern.

"Any discussion of sex with teens must acknowledge the complex context of most sexual relationships and must draw upon the research when giving counsel," she says.

Huber says the CDC's messaging was slanted toward the idea that the LARC method would provide safe sex.

"Sexual delay has the greatest impact on decreasing the number of lifetime partners, preventing pregnancy, decreasing STD rates and increasing condom use when sexually active," she says. "Teens need to understand that sexual delay is the best way to avoid acquiring a disease, and any information on contraception must be presented in a way that it does not normalize teen sex."